Evil Angel Scores in Cal/OSHA Trial; Agency Refuses to Protect Performer Privacy

Evil Angel owner John Stagliano was handed a huge victory at his company’s Cal/OSHA trial in West Covina yesterday, when the agency dropped all counts regarding the lack of condom use and the exchange of “potentially infectious materials” via bodily fluids.

The move came almost a year and a half after the agency’s inspection of Evil Angel’s office, and a year after citations were issued. Evil Angel had vigorously denied any wrongdoing.

Observing the proceedings were AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) stooges Mark Roy “Wolverine” McGrath and Adam “Lonelyhearts” Cohen.

At one point, Evil Angel made a motion that the female performer who had been called to testify be permitted to do so under her performer name, rather than reveal her legal name, in open court on public record.

Cal/OSHA attorney Kathryn Woods opposed the Evil Angel motion on the grounds that it was unnecessary, potentially confusing, and because adult performers choose to work in this industry, these protections of their privacy are unwarranted.

Evil Angel’s counsel, Karen Tynan, was reportedly furious at Cal/OSHA’s opposition to the motion, and eventually prevailed — the performer’s legal name was stricken from the record.

Months ago, when the first stage of the trial was held, a male performer had been called to the stand, and permitted to testify, under his performer alias. As offensive as Cal/OSHA’s opposition to Evil Angel’s motion is, this difference in approach raises additional troubling questions about Cal/OSHA.

The dropped charges included such Cal/OSHA catchphrases as “bloodborne pathogens” and “other potentially infectious materials (OPIM),” as well as ample references to vaginal, anal and oral sex.

According to Evil Angel CFO Adam Grayson, all that remains is for the administrative law judge in the case to rule on is is “ticky-tack warehouse stuff, the same as you would find in any warehouse in California, big or small, adult or otherwise. An extension cord here, an unlabeled breaker switch there.”

Evil Angel owner John Stagliano led the fight: “We are in a culture war. Many people would love to have the power to control what we do with our bodies,” said Stagliano. “The porn industry by its very existence fights for freedom, for the freedom to do what you want with your body and show that to the world. This is a small victory in the war on our freedom.”

Attorney Karen Tynan, who has represented a number of other adult companies in Cal/OSHA cases, stated, “We never considered settlement; we always knew we were in the right, and John refused to be bullied by the State of California,” said Tynan. “I can’t praise John Stagliano enough for what he’s done for the adult industry. I’m so proud to have worked with him and Adam to defend Evil Angel and the industry.”

“A win is a win, and people should know about it and people should be emboldened by our success here,” Grayson told AVN earlier today.

When asked by AVN, Grayson stated that no specific movie titles were mentioned in the complaint.

“Because of the business model here at Evil Angel, we don’t produce any movies, so it was finally reduced to discussing a scene John did pay for, a solo scene, out of the Evil Angel bank account and a girl got to squirt on his arm; that’s what it had been reduced to at one point,” Grayson said. “They saw a movie that said ‘Evil Angel’ on it—I believe it was Buttman’s Stretch Class 17—a girl was having solo sex in it, and that was kind of their foundation. But that never came up in court. By the time they had to start talking about where these things happened, in what movies, that’s when they dropped that part of the citation. I think they just finally came to the conclusion that there was nothing here, which is what we’ve been saying for the past year and a half on this. There’s no smoke or fire.”